Sennheiser HD 800 Redux

[tin ear]

luv it.

[grawk]

so did head-case

[Sherwood]

I simply cannot abide Icelandic slurs.  Bridge too far.

[Audiojunkie]

so did head-case

 

[spritzer]

So no more Analickus?  Such a shame...

 

How will we find out more about the plankton? 

[nopants]

I came here with a pair of hd800s in tow hoping to be entertained and I was not disappointed

Misplaced modifiers aside, I've been spending a fair bit of time with these and I can't help but feel like they're making things sound particularly artificial. I also can't explain how it's accomplishing this effect, but I have noticed a lot more listening fatigue than usual- not unlike getting too chummy with the K1000. Maybe there's just a lot more high frequency energy present than the sound might first suggest?

apologies for adhering to the topic, don't mind me

[nikongod]

Andrew - do you have access to a parametric equilizer? There is a thread I realllllllllllllllly like on head-fi - how to eq your headphones a tutorial. Try what it says. 

Edited August 10, 2013 by nikongod

[Sherwood]

Haven't seen that one, Ari or Andrew.  If you find a link before me, do you mind posting it here?

[Dusty Chalk]

I came here with a pair of hd800s in tow hoping to be entertained and I was not disappointed

Misplaced modifiers aside, I've been spending a fair bit of time with these and I can't help but feel like they're making things sound particularly artificial. I also can't explain how it's accomplishing this effect, but I have noticed a lot more listening fatigue than usual- not unlike getting too chummy with the K1000. Maybe there's just a lot more high frequency energy present than the sound might first suggest?

apologies for adhering to the topic, don't mind me

I've had that problem, and in my case I had a particularly revealing system that adhered too much to the output of my DAC.  In my case, the solution was to get a smoother DAC.

[nikongod]

Haven't seen that one, Ari or Andrew.  If you find a link before me, do you mind posting it here?

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/413900/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-a-tutorial

 

VERY long thread... 

I personally use pink noise (or was it white? Its been a while...) to set things up, but the 2-tone method looks cool too. 

There are a few spin off threads. I cant be bothered to follow everyone who does something 1% different and creates a new thread for it. 

[Sherwood]

http://www.head-fi.org/t/413900/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-a-tutorial

 

In your debt, sir.  Thanks!

[tjkurita]

I have lived with the HD800 for a while now.  I still like them very much but I can say that they do not necessarily replace my HD600s.  I spent a little time comparing the two last night.  The HD600 is undeniably a classic headphone and I think the HD800 compliments it rather nicely.  There is a lot of talk about the peakiness of the HD800 is some (I can't remember which ) section of the bandwidth.  I am not sure about that.  Compared to the HD600, the HD800 sounds flat as a strap in terms of frequency response.  They have treble sparkle, but they also have deep bass.  It's just a lot of everything and in pretty even doses as far as I can hear.  On the other hand, I found the HD600 a bit more boosty in the upper mids.  This quality makes them "more fun" to me.  A bit more "passionate" and "emotional."  I know these words don't mean anything but there were moments when I was grabbed a little more emotionally by the music with the HD600.  The HD800 is an intellectually appealing headphone because of its absolutely incredible resolution and the very wide, open soundstage.  I enjoy high resolution and there is plenty of emotion in the HD800 for me, probably because my front end gear is, if I do say so myself, ridiculously great.  But I think the HD800 could easily find itself in the boring category without a proper front end.  But the reason for this post, really, is to say that I also really love my HD600s and I will probably continue listening to them as much as any other headphone I own. 

[complin]

I've had my 800's getting on for a couple of years now.  I have found them the most difficult and problematic headphone I have ever owned and have forced me to keep re-evaluating my source (DAC) and amplifier to a point where their undoubted qualities can be enjoyed.

I have recently moved them to balanced drive and this has given them much greater frequency extension, particularly the bass, greater overall body and a much more coherent sound stage. I think they were just made for balanced drive which is presumably why both of Sennheisers amplifiers for the HD800 are balanced.

I have found them VERY amp picky and we have lots of theories about this, but so far I don't think we fully understand their ideal requirements. Tyll loves the single ended EPC audio L-2 pairing and I would love to hear this and compare it with my current favourite the Headroom BUDA, but this is not likely to happen anytime soon, unless Tyll decides to make the comparison for himself.    

 

I have lived with the HD800 for a while now.  I still like them very much but I can say that they do not necessarily replace my HD600s.  I spent a little time comparing the two last night.  The HD600 is undeniably a classic headphone and I think the HD800 compliments it rather nicely.  There is a lot of talk about the peakiness of the HD800 is some (I can't remember which ) section of the bandwidth.  I am not sure about that.  Compared to the HD600, the HD800 sounds flat as a strap in terms of frequency response.  They have treble sparkle, but they also have deep bass.  It's just a lot of everything and in pretty even doses as far as I can hear.  On the other hand, I found the HD600 a bit more boosty in the upper mids.  This quality makes them "more fun" to me.  A bit more "passionate" and "emotional."  I know these words don't mean anything but there were moments when I was grabbed a little more emotionally by the music with the HD600.  The HD800 is an intellectually appealing headphone because of its absolutely incredible resolution and the very wide, open soundstage.  I enjoy high resolution and there is plenty of emotion in the HD800 for me, probably because my front end gear is, if I do say so myself, ridiculously great.  But I think the HD800 could easily find itself in the boring category without a proper front end.  But the reason for this post, really, is to say that I also really love my HD600s and I will probably continue listening to them as much as any other headphone I own. 

Edited August 11, 2013 by complin

[deepak]

IME the older Headroom amps I've heard sound different balanced. With the GS-X and ECBA the S/E to balanced differences are small. I actually prefer S/E on the BA.

[Audiojunkie]

IME the older Headroom amps I've heard sound different balanced. With the GS-X and ECBA the S/E to balanced differences are small. I actually prefer S/E on the BA.

 

Nothing "balanced" about the BA or 300b tube amps.

[deepak]

Nothing "balanced" about the BA or 300b tube amps.

The balanced inputs do use Cinemag transformers to convert to S/E?... more than likely the differences I was hearing.

[Sherwood]

Nothing "balanced" about the BA or 300b tube amps.

 

Well, the name is certainly balanced.

[shellylh]

Nice!

[nopants]

funny you mention that thread ari, i used eletriq for my k1k when they were my main headphone. i couldnt get the presets to save properly so i became super annoyed trying to dial in the notches once a week. that pink noise sweep also killed my ears in a bad way after the first few times.

id be a bit more torn using it for the hd800s, as id just be undoing their reverb/echo dsp...that they have managed to do in physical hardware haha. thats probably the closest ill get to describing what i heard, along with what was a fair amount of treble smearing. i returned them to my friend today, but ill try to give that parameq a shot on his setup when im feeling like an invasive douche

Andrew - do you have access to a parametric equilizer? There is a thread I realllllllllllllllly like on head-fi - how to eq your headphones a tutorial. Try what it says.

[spritzer]

well, came home from a long weekend out of town, to find the old, ungrounded outlet by my desk converted to a new grounded outlet.  the ground is on a nearby cold water pipe.  when i first turned the system on, the AM reception was even worse than it was, but then i realized that i was using an unshielded aftermarket cable, because the shield on the Senn cable was previously acting as a really bad antenna.  i swapped the aftermarket cable for the stock cable, and voila: no more AM reception.  If I loop the cable and hold it into the air, i get a kind of white noise, so it's not perfect, but i don't often listen with the cable looped, up in the air.  I'm very pleased.

 

Glad this was sorted.   

[spritzer]

That is just odd.  You could always transformer couple the source but that is maybe going a bit too far...

[deepak]

This is pretty bizarre. Input transformers seems like overkill, and the good ones aren't cheap.

[grawk]

it could be the interfering station is a daytime only station

[deepak]

Oh jeez the Reks curse. Those were troubling times.

[nikongod]

Have you tried other headphones? 

Coiling the cable?

Shielded interconnects? 

Just thoughts. 

Edited August 13, 2013 by nikongod